Austin ISD will host Pride Week March 20-25
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Independent School District announced it will hold a Pride Week celebration during the week of March 20-25. According to the district, it is to celebrate LGBTQIA students, staff and families.
The district says this year’s event coincides with National LGBT Health Awareness Week.
The district’s plans come a year after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote to letter to then AISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde in March 2022condemning the district’s “Pride Week” events.
Paxton wrote in the letter that the lesson plans deal head-on with sexual orientation and gender identity, topics that are “unmistakably” education about human sexuality and are “governed by state law.”
Paxton said parents, not school districts, are responsible for sex education. He said that by hosting Pride Week, in its current form, the AISD is breaking state law.
“I want all of our LGBTQIA students to know that we are proud of them and will protect them from political attacks,” Elizalde tweeted in response in March 2022.
According to the announcement, each campus has received a guide of suggested Pride Week activities and resources.
During the week, students and staff can visit their school’s front office to pick up Pride and Ally stickers, posters, flags, pronouns and more.
The AISD Pride Parade is scheduled for August, with details to be finalized.
